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Rosen: Anti-reefer madness

By Mike Rosen

Posted:
11/29/2012 12:01:00 AM MST

It remains to be seen whether the federal government will allow Colorado to proceed with the expanded legalization of marijuana as approved by voters under Amendment 64. (A similar measure was approved by voters in the state of Washington.)

It's likely other states will soon follow suit. Heretofore, the feds have essentially let slide the legalization of marijuana for medical use in 18 states and Washington, D.C. If the feds think Amendment 64 and its ilk are a bridge too far, they could presumably invoke federal law, which still holds marijuana to be an illegal substance. As far-reaching as any decision in this area will be, it should be President Obama's call, unless he chooses to redirect the heat toward soon-to-be ex-Attorney General Eric Holder.

The vote on 64 split along two main fissures. Libertarian-leaning voters tended to favor it; socially conservative voters opposed it. But it still passed narrowly, even in socially conservative El Paso County. Demographically, younger people tended to vote yes; older people, no — although it's likely many aging baby boomers who smoked grass in their youth (and especially those who still do) supported it.

There was once a time when politicians running for office were careful to deny they had ever experimented with marijuana, even if they had. That started to shift with the presidential candidacy of Bill Clinton in 1991. He confessed that he actually tried marijuana in college but (wink, wink) "didn't inhale." By 2007, Barack Obama didn't feel the need to finesse that, having admitted in his book, "Dreams From My Father," that he and his teenage "Choom Gang" buddies smoked pot in Hawaii. It didn't become a campaign issue.

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In 1991, Amendment 64 never would have passed. Times have changed. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 29 million Americans ages 12 and older reported using marijuana in 2010. Some who do may not "report" it, and the number of users is growing under medical marijuana laws, including people who falsely claim medical necessity.

Marijuana, legal or illegal, isn't going away. The question is what to do about it.

The leading argument of opponents of Amendment 64 was that legalization of marijuana would draw more underage kids into its use and abuse. That's a reasonable assumption. Apparently, underage use is already a serious problem, even though marijuana is currently an illegal substance. Unfortunately, legalization may aggravate that, the degree to which is debatable.

But like any public policy issue, it's a matter of tradeoffs between drawbacks and benefits. Underage youths drink alcohol, too. We tried outlawing that in the 1920s. Prohibition was a failure, creating even more problems. The duty of protecting kids from these controlled substances should lie mostly with their parents. And among adults, temperate behavior regarding marijuana use, drinking, gambling, smoking, junk food or a host of life's other temptations should be a matter of personal responsibility, not the job of Big Brother.

The biggest benefit of legalization is the elimination of most crimes associated with illegal production and distribution. The legal, competitive market price of marijuana will drop sharply, especially since people will be allowed to grow their own for personal use or in non-profit co-ops. The price premium enjoyed by drug pushers and cartels when it was illegal will disappear and with it their artificial profit margins and customer base.

This will, in turn, help unclog our courts, reduce the prison population, economize on those costs, and free the police to deal with more serious crimes. It will also save a lot of small-time marijuana users from having a permanent criminal blot on their records, foreclosing life opportunities. Throw in sales-tax revenues that couldn't be collected from illegal vendors, and it seems clear that the benefits of Amendment 64 outweigh the drawbacks.

Freelance columnist Mike Rosen's radio show airs weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon on 850-KOA.

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